Traditionally, presidents have waited until the summer or fall to announce their picks to lead the Fed. Ronald Reagan nominated Alan Greenspan in June 1987. The Bush White House consulted Mr. Greenspan extensively before choosing Ben Bernanke, whom George W. Bush nominated in October 2005. Most recently, Mr. Obama announced that he would re-nominate Mr. Bernanke in August of 2009.

Mr. Obama does have one appointment he could make sooner. Governor Elizabeth Duke‘s term ended in January, though she may remain in office until her successor is confirmed. Appointed by President Bush, the former banker is the only one of the Fed’s seven-member Board of Governors not chosen by Mr. Obama. Ms. Duke has emerged as the Fed’s housing market expert and helped broker a compromise that paved the way for the central bank’s new bond-buying program this fall.

Meanwhile, Fed officials’ regular trips to Capitol Hill may prove slightly less contentious next year. Democrats’ control of the Senate makes it less likely the Fed will face one unwelcome change some Republican lawmakers have advocated: opening up the central bank’s monetary policy deliberations to auditors. GOP lawmakers who have also pushed to narrow the Fed’s dual mandate to focus just on price stability won’t have the muscle to pass such a bill in the Senate.

The Fed is tasked with promoting both full employment and stable prices, but some Republicans have worried that inflation could spike if the central bank focuses too much on boosting the jobs market. Fed officials say they are able to balance both goals over the long term.

And the central bank will get to say farewell to its loudest congressional critic, the popular curmudgeon, Rep. Ron Paul (R., Texas), who retires in January. Republican Randy Weber, a two-term state representative, won his spot Tuesday night.

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